Author: Edu-Advisor

Dream2Career Offers a Post-COVID Hiring Strategy

by Edu-Advisor, posted in Businesses Work-Learn Insights, Workforce Development

Let’s face it, people are not returning to work Post-COVID. We all want life to get back to normal, but there are many challenges that are preventing employees from returning to the workforce. 

Employers are looking for ways to:

  • Reward those who stayed on in the workforce
  • Find motivated entry-level talent
  • Reduce hiring costs
  • Inspire their current workforce
  • Increase ROI

Dream2Career, LLC (D2C) developed a Post-COVID recruitment plan that will help to inspire the next generation and help businesses to find and grow their workforce. D2C looks at this problem differently than any other hiring group and they understand the complexities that employers and employees are facing.

Dream2Career now offers affordable, job embedded, online degree programs in collaboration with accredited colleges. They use a distance education model to upskill your current workforce by offering training that perfectly aligns with employers’ workforce needs.

Because the credits are offered by an accredited school, employees can use Federal funding to reduce corporate training costs. This program attracts best-fit talent by providing a new hiring upskill incentive for prospective employees.
This learning community will provide an innovative culture for maximum impact and significant ROI.

D2C uses the Horizontal Industry Framework (HIF) to re-invent the work-learn space and to help businesses thrive. They help businesses find and hire employees who perfectly fit the needs of entry-level positions and upskill current employees who add value to the bottom-line.

The D2C mission is to integrate the HIF so that schools, businesses, and workforce groups can collaborate on talent development to offer win, win, win solutions that positively impact communities. Their goal is to help students and displaced workers find on-ramps to dream careers.

They help organizations create communities that embrace diversity of thought, increase innovation, and make communities stronger through a shared vision of success!

If you have a business that is looking for an effective recruitment strategy post-COVID, contact Dream2Career to reinvent your hiring practices by using a simplified, streamlined process that gets results.

National Job Shadowing Week Goes Virtual

by Edu-Advisor, posted in HR Professionals
  

National Job Shadowing Week March 21-27, 2021 is going virtual this year to help students and displaced workers engage with businesses that offer high demand and emerging career options that match interests and aspirational goals. Edu-Advisor uses the Horizontal Industry Framework to organize learning experiences in a new, user-focused way.

NC-RA Seeking Founding Board Members

by Edu-Advisor, posted in CDFI, Workforce Development

Seeking Industry Partners and Thought Leaders Interested in Developing the Workforce of Tomorrow

PHILADELPHIA, PA, UNITED STATES, January 5, 2020

The National Career-Readiness Association (NC-RA), a forming 501(c)(3), is seeking industry and educational leaders to sit on its founding board charged with developing a National Workforce Recovery Plan (NWRP) that helps students and displaced workers find learning on-ramps leading to sustainable careers. The NC-RA will be built upon four pillars; develop, connect, validate, and advance career-readiness projects in schools and communities. The NC-RA board will be made up of executive leaders who can use the Horizontal Industry Framework (HIF) to develop policy, purpose, and curriculum that supports learning and workforce development initiatives.

The Board will be charged with helping the nation tackle the psychological, educational, and operational challenges of getting students and displaced workers back to work after the COVID-19 crisis decimated communities across the nation. This disaster recovery initiative is designed to inspire hope and promise at a time of greatest need by providing a win-win-win solution for jobseekers, organizations, and communities.

“The National Workforce Recovery Plan is vital to our nation’s success as we emerge from this crisis with promise and purpose.”

— Dr. Kathleen Houlihan, D2C CEO & Creator of the HIF

This initiative will provide a framework for all industries to effectively work together to tackle societal problems and pressing issues like sustainability, privacy and security, diversity and inclusion, and the political divide. The plan will uncover new methods for innovation and change and it will provide a sense of belonging that will move society forward in a positive way. Dr. Kathleen Houlihan, NC-RA’s Acting President, states, “The NC-RA Board’s ability to develop a National Workforce Recovery Plan is vital to our nation’s success as we emerge from this crisis with promise and purpose and as we seek ways to innovate, collaborate, and create thriving organizations and communities.”

The NWRP will create synergies between workforce and education that close achievement gaps by using innovation and collaboration in the work-learn space. The Board will also be working with educators to support the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which essentially highlights inroads, for students, to high demand and emerging industries matching their career interests.

In 2001, the National Science Foundation (NSF) changed their career fields’ categorization to STEM. Government entities, schools, and industry collectively used the term STEM to identify the skills and integrated knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and math. Because of the popularity and mainstream use of the acronym, schools were able to develop curriculum, government was able to write policy, and industry was able to innovate in all of the STEM fields.

The Horizontal Industry Framework, developed by Dr. Houlihan, uses the same logic as STEM which brings entities from various industries together with shared knowledge of a subject to innovate and collaborate under a shared vision. The HIF does not replace STEM, it expands its initiatives and allows all industry professionals to have a common language that allows for participation and collaboration with government, educators, parents, displaced workers, and interested students. The Horizontal Industry Framework is also inclusive because it reaches diverse genders, races, ages, classes, and communities who can converge around similar interests and objectives.

By including the HIF as the base structure for the National Workforce Recovery Plan, SMEs, educators, and students with similar interests and schools of thought can coalesce to create curriculum, reframe current structures, innovate training on-ramps, and create the workforce of tomorrow.

To learn more about NC-RA, please visit www.nc-ra.org.

About Dream2Career, LLC
Dream2Career, LLC is a specialized intermediary that works with schools, businesses, and workforce groups to create synergies between workforce and education. The D2C mission is to integrate the HIF in ways that help students and career seekers succeed in learning and in life. D2C is a women-owned startup located in Northeastern PA.
To learn more about Dream2Career, LLC, please visit www.dream2career.org.

 

This article first appeared in EIN News

Horizontal Industry Framework

Dream2Career Publishes Framework for National Workforce Recovery Plan to Biden, Cardona, and Incoming Labor Secretary

by Edu-Advisor, posted in Workforce Development

Dream2Career, LLC, an educational intermediary, invites President-Elect Joe Biden, incoming Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and the soon-to-be-announced Secretary of Labor to use the Horizonal Industry Framework to develop a National Workforce Recovery Plan that tackles the psychological, educational, and operational challenges of getting students and displaced workers back to work after the COVID-19 crisis decimated communities across the nation.

The Horizontal Industry Framework (HIF) creates synergies between workforce and education and encompasses all industries and all careers identified by the Department of Labor and curates them into an organized structure that aligns with the Department of Education’s career cluster model and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Using the HIF allows schools, businesses, and workforce groups to develop policy, purpose, funding, and curriculum that supports learning and innovation that will help communities recover emotionally and financially from the destruction created by the coronavirus. The HIF inspires personal growth, creates a sense of belonging, and provides a common language that creates a stronger, more integrated, work-learn ecosystem.

Like President-Elect Joe Biden, Dream2Career believes that the only way America will succeed is by coming together and reconciling our differences. To achieve this objective, Dream2Career developed a specialized space that allows for collaboration between the emerging industry needs, training on-ramps, and the pool of available workers. This framework allows groups to develop actionable solutions that serve industries, jobseekers, students, educators, and benefits entire communities.

Dream2Career, LLC is forming a non-profit called the National Career-Readiness Association (NC-RA) that will be responsible for developing the National Workforce Recovery Plan using the Horizontal Industry Framework. Dream2Career is seeking founding board members to represent each mega cluster (Specialists, Visionaries, Processors, Protectors, Naturalists, Mavens). These executive positions will be filled by high-level industry leaders and educators who want to build the workforce of tomorrow and who are interested in helping communities recover and thrive under the new administration.

For more information about NC-RA, visit www.nc-ra.org.

About Dream2Career:
Dream2Career, LLC, was established in 2020 to help students and career seekers to find pathways to sustainable careers that match their interests and aspirational goals. D2C is a women-owned startup located in Northeastern PA.

 

This article first appeared on IssueWire

Dream2Career, LLC Certified By the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council

by Edu-Advisor, posted in HR Professionals, Marketing Professionals, Workforce Development

Dream2Career, LLC, a business specializing in promoting synergies between workforce and education, is proud to announce national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the WBEC-EAST, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

Dr. Kathleen Houlihan, Founder and CEO of Dream2Career stated that, “The WBENC certification has provided countless opportunities to engage with corporations through their supplier diversity network. My only regret is that we did not learn about WBENC sooner because their engaging and informative seminars are essential and highly regarded by leaders of female-led businesses.”

WBENC’s national standard of certification implemented by the WBEC-EAST is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection. The certification process is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by a woman or women.

By including women-owned businesses among their suppliers, corporations and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their supplier diversity programs.

About Dream2Career:

Dream2Career(D2C) is a boutique marketing agency that promotes career on-ramps through impactful social engagement. D2C is committed to offering curated, unbiased, reliable content that is balanced with captivating storytelling so users of our unique platforms can find and prepare for dream careers. To learn more about Dream2Career, LLC, please visit www.dream2career.org.

About WBENC:
Founded in 1997, WBENC is the nation’s leader in women’s business development and the leading third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women, with more than 13,000 certified Women’s Business Enterprises, 14 national Regional Partner Organizations, and over 300 Corporate Members. More than 1,000 corporations representing America’s most prestigious brands as well as many states, cities, and other entities accept WBENC Certification. For more information, visit www.wbenc.org.

 
Original PRLOG Release:
Dream2Career, LLC Certified By the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council

Re-Imagining Learning Communities For a Stronger Workforce

by Edu-Advisor, posted in Admissions Professionals, Businesses Work-Learn Insights, HR Professionals, Visionaries, Work-Learn Solutions for Businesses, Workforce Development

According to Internet Live Stats there are more than 1.7 billion websites. That number does not include the actual number of pages of content on each website. Just to provide a context for this number, small companies will easily have over 100 pages of content so it is difficult to comprehend the actual volume of data that is available online. This statistic becomes even more distorted when adding personal content like blog posts and other types of digital and social media. It is clear why the internet is a quagmire when looking for quality information.

What can be even more frustrating is that the websites with the most insightful information are never seen by the masses because these types of researchers, teachers, and developers lack the resources or the interest to “ranking number one on Google”. These educators want to provide information that is useful and will help others on their pathway to success. That is why it is critical to re-imagine education so that those who have the answers can simply connect virtually with those seeking a solution to that specific problem.

Dream2Career is re-imagining and simplifying the digital network for work-based learning experiences by connecting the learning provider and with interested students.  When students, parents, and educators get together with businesses and schools, learning happens and pathways emerge leading users to their dream careers. Educational agents work with the best learning programs and event providers to help students find and answer the question, “What should I do with the rest of my life?”. We help learning communities promote solutions, best practices, and mentorship in ways that supports the needs and curiosity of the student.

Dream2Career is designed to help businesses and schools promote programs and events to those interested in each specific discipline. Every program is not right for every student and Dream2Career has a mission of helping students connect with the right resources leading to their dream careers.  We do this by using our marketing expertise and an algorithm that is built upon the career clusters identified by the Department of Education and encompasses opportunities that highlight the 1100+ jobs identified by the Department of Labor. We work with schools and businesses to provide free access to resources that match and engage students and educators with local and virtual opportunities so they can be inspired about the future world of work.

National Challenge: 90 Days to a Career Ready America

National Challenge: 90 Days to a Career-Ready America

by Edu-Advisor, posted in Admissions Professionals, Advice for Workers and Career Seekers, Businesses Work-Learn Insights, HR Professionals, Marketing Professionals, Trending, Work-Learn Solutions for Businesses, Workforce Development

Dream2Career challenges educational leaders to participate in 90 Days to a Career-Ready America. Schools and businesses that offer online experiences like webinars, courses, certificates, badges, degree programs, activities, virtual tours, educational games, learning communities, presentations, camps, educational kits, internships, mentorships, scholarships, incubators, or events for students of any age or ability, can post these experiences in a new way.  Dream2Career quickly connects learning experiences with the appropriate types of students based on their individual interest profiles.

Access to information has become a challenge because there is so much of it. Many organizations are posting lists of online learning resources for students. This is helpful, yet it takes too long for students and parents read through and check each website regarding all the of opportunities on the list, most of which do not apply to each unique circumstance.  These lists are all encompassing and consequently, poorly match to what each specific the learner is trying to achieve. Dream2Career filters learning experiences based on the user’s interests so students can quickly find the relevant information to immediately begin the learning process that matches their interests and aspirations.

Dream2Career is a women-led tech startup that developed a platform for schools and businesses to post online learning experiences in a student-focused way. Students, parents, educators, and career seekers need a resource that quickly matches needs and interests to the appropriate learning on-ramps. Using a unique algorithm, the platform integrates users interests and filters them through the Department of Education’s career clusters making it easy for users to receive only relevant learning experiences.

Some of the Best Planning Occurs in “Captivation”

Because of “shelter in place” rules, families are going to want to find tools that are useful in finding quality experiences to do at home. This unusual form of confinement offers individuals time to plan for their dream life and the best free tool to help families with this process is Dream2Career. NPR followed a group of inmates who completed degrees in prison and found that the learning experiences were able to inspire hope by making the time in confinement easier and more productive.  It is important to be able to see beyond our “incarceration” to life after this horrible pandemic. Using this newly found time to learn and to grow will inspire new ideas and it will create opportunities for a more promising future.

When we learn about things that interest us, innovation and prosperity await us on other side of this national disaster. Students, parents, mentors, and educators can register for free and we will email learning experiences that match the completed interest profile.

If you are a business or a school post learning experiences and help communities to find and prepare for dream careers.

Rudy Ruiz: Leading K-20 Visionary

by Edu-Advisor, posted in Businesses Work-Learn Insights, Solving the Work-Learn Problem, Trending, Visionaries

It is an exciting time to be working in the education industry because solutions are emerging that are bringing opportunity to schools across the nation. One of the reasons for this innovation boom is because of great educational leaders, like Rudy Ruiz. By spearheading these efforts, Ruiz is making a difference in his home state of Maryland and these visionary solutions are being replicated in other states, which is positively impacting a growing number of student success stories.

Visionary Leader in Education
Visionary Leader in Education, Rudy Ruiz

Rudy Ruiz is a Partner at FourPoint Education Partners and the former Chief Education Officer of the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education. He and his team developed an amazing student-focused mobile app called Way to Be. This innovative solution helps students learn from experts about high demand and emerging industries and it helps them to find on-ramps that match their interests to aspirational careers. This app is being adopted by the Maryland School Districts and is currently being upgraded to include relevant information that applies to other states. This project is one of many that Ruiz has on his agenda for bringing access and opportunity to students across that nation.

Because of his experiences and his background, Rudy is on a mission to make the world a better place.  He is particularly interested in helping to inspire disadvantaged youth because he personally experienced opportunities and challenges that shaped his beliefs, while growing up in a poor minority neighborhood in Milwaukee.  He was fortunate to have a strong family full of love that supported him, even during the most difficult times. He says, “I have spent the past 18 years in the classroom, in school leadership, in district leadership, in state leadership, and now supporting communities nationally, to close these equity gaps in access and opportunity to high-quality educational experiences and outcomes.” His experiences and personal understanding of their struggles, gives him the strength and tenacity to continue pushing forward. His ability to endure, while continuing to reaffirm his beliefs, are what bring about innovation and progress.

One can’t help but to be inspired by his passion and get-it-done attitude.  Rudy Ruiz is a true visionary who continues to enhance the world of education for the next generation.

Trending Educational Tool

Trending Women Tech Startups: Dream2Career develops the Amazon for Education

by Edu-Advisor, posted in Admissions Professionals, Businesses Work-Learn Insights, Work-Learn Solutions for Businesses, Workforce Development

There is a desperate need for an interest matching solution for education like Amazon’s marketplace for products.  Dream2Career, a women-owned tech startup, is working on this problem for students and career-seekers across the nation. There are so many different types of programs and learning opportunities, traditional and non-traditional pathways, certificates, badges, camps, hackathons, apprenticeships, internships, incubators, scholarships, etc. that students can’t easily find the best learning program for them without having to review multiple websites and pages of information. Students have wasted hours researching, using dreaded search engines, to find experiences only to miss the best learning opportunities leading to high demand and emerging careers.  The complexity of the educational system makes interest and opportunity matching extremely difficult without a dedicated search tool.

Furthermore, educational institutions are forced to spend up to 6% of their operating budget on marketing which includes buying keywords that consequently, result in fewer and fewer additional prospective student views of their educational programs. The lack of an integrated network results in rising tuition costs, less student satisfaction, and decreased retention rates. The net result is under-educated communities that fail to meet the needs of local businesses.

The nation needs a work-based learning network that is designed, specifically to pinpoint and match user interests and requirements with local learning experiences designed for them. Dream2Career worked with students, educators, businesses, and the D&I community to design the Edu-Advisor platform where users can find categories of interest and quickly locate learning on-ramps and experiences. Dream2Career is also offering users the opportunity to sign up today and receive future updates about local learning experiences that match career interests. Dream2Career is also designing an Edu-Advisor app, but until then, it is best to subscribe here to keep up to date and to start living your dream life.

Imagine a world where learning experiences were organized based on interests and where the system made recommendations of similar learning opportunities. How cool would this solution be? Enter the keywords or searchable fields organized into six mega clusters, and have access to local events and programs that put students, parents, educators and career-seekers on pathways to success. No longer would there be a need to find the company and then hope they have a learning program for you to get your foot in the door. No longer would there be a need to pick a school and then hope they have your major or program of interest. No longer would families struggle to find fun and educational places to go and things to do together. Communities would begin to work on discovering, growing, and thriving as they work towards a common goal–Prosperity through education and connection!